All posts by Heather

Garden centres ‘failing to stop peat sales’

BBC News reports leading garden retailers are still failing to stop the sale of peat in compost despite pressure from the government and campaigners. The Wildlife Trusts said only one of 20 retailers contacted said it would eliminate peat from its shelves this year.

The restoration of peatlands is a key part of the government’s strategy to mitigate the impact of climate change. Highly absorbent, it also helps with flood prevention.

However, one peat producer told the BBC that since lockdown there had been a surge in interest in gardening. Demand for peat was “unprecedented” and there was currently no viable alternative.

Wildlife haven enlists Goldsmith to fight plan for 3,500 homes

The Times reports a pioneering rewilding project which is a haven for endangered turtle doves and nightingales has won ministerial support for its campaign against plans for 3,500 homes which it says would be catastrophic for wildlife.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park, the environment minister, has condemned the proposed development near Knepp estate in West Sussex, which was heralded in the government’s 25-year environment plan in 2018 as a prime example of the kind of wildlife restoration it wanted to encourage.

Goldsmith said: “Knepp is an iconic project and probably the best known rewilding initiative in the country. What they have achieved has attracted international acclaim, and rightly so. It would be a tragedy to allow a major development to undo all that extraordinary work.”

‘Make a memory’: campaigners fear revised Countryside Code lacks bite

The GuardianSky News, and Daily Mail report seventy years ago, visitors to the countryside were warned in rhyme that the farmer would “frown” on “lad or lass who treads his crops, or tramples grass”. Now the revised Countryside Code will encourage the unprecedented number of domestic holidaymakers to “be nice, say hello, share the space” and “make a memory” when they visit parks, coasts, woods and farmland this summer.

The new guidance – the first major revision to the code for more than a decade – asks visitors to stay on footpaths, keep their dogs “under control and in sight”, clear up dog poo, and “take care with BBQs”.

Sewage discharged into rivers 400,000 times in 2020

Photo by Malcolm Oakley under creative commons

BBC NewsThe Guardian, and The Times report water companies discharged raw sewage into rivers in England more than 400,000 times in 2020, according to new figures published by the Environment Agency.

Untreated effluent, including human waste, wet wipes and condoms, was released into waterways for more than three million hours last year. Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency, said that his organisation was “working actively with the water companies to ensure overflows are properly controlled”.

Environment minister pledges laws to cut dumping of sewage in English rivers

The Guardian, and The Times report the environment minister, Rebecca Pow, has promised to bring in legislation to reduce discharge of raw sewage into rivers.

Pow said that she would be placing a legal duty on government to come up with a plan to cut dumping by water companies by September 2022. Pressure has been growing on water companies and ministers as evidence grows of the scale of the issue and amid increasing evidence of the poor state of rivers.

Tree-planting drive takes root as National Trust record first 60,000 saplings in bid for 20million more

The Daily Mail reports The National Trust has planted 60,000 saplings in the first part of its drive to plant 20million trees by 2030. The charity has received nearly £500,000 in public donations for its ten-year campaign and has been identifying sites to boost nature, fight climate change and protect landscapes.

More locations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been earmarked for the next tranche of 1.5million trees set to be planted within a couple of years.

Litter warning as people head to the countryside after lockdown eases

iNEWS reports green campaigners are warning of potential disaster for wildlife and a costly clean ups by hard-pressed council crews unless people venturing outdoors with friends after months in lockdown take home their litter this weekend.

Cleaning teams were swamped with an unprecedented amount of rubbish when coronavirus restrictions were lifted last summer – with 33 tonnes of waste cleaned up along the Dorset coast and Lake District rangers discovering a tent and a full suitcase abandoned by a tarn.

A good year for UK butterflies but third of species still in decline

Red Admiral Butterfly

The Guardian, and Daily Mail report last year was the third good summer in a row for butterflies and the 10th best since records began, but one-third of Britain’s species are still in long-term decline.

Conservation scientists warned against overstating the butterfly boom, saying perceptions of a “good” year have lowered in the light of plummeting insect numbers. “Perhaps because of the sunny spring weather last year and the fact that more people were enjoying nature as part of their day-to-day activities, butterflies seemed more numerous,” said Richard Fox, of Butterfly Conservation.

£22m fund launched to restore peatlands that could help climate fight

The Independent reports the Scottish government is encouraging farmers and landowners to apply for grants from a £22m fund for restoring its peatlands, which can help capture carbon. Up to a quarter of Scotland, about 1.7 million hectares, is covered in peat soil which could capture and store up to 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon – the equivalent of up to 140 years of the country’s emissions.